On this page, we will share activity ideas to nurture young innovators in the classroom, home and community:
Suggested Sample Activity/Projects to Nurture Young Innovators
What if? Genie - Creative Writing - Suggested age level 5 to 8 CCSS: ELA-Literacy.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
Children are provided with a prompt and then begin to write creatively. Bruce Van Patter created the What if? Genie. If you want to encourage creative writing, students can click on the What if? Genie and a question will be generated. The students can then begin their creative writing from the prompt they receive. Give it a try here: __http://www.brucevanpatter.com/what_if_questions.php__ This activity can be modified for younger children or English Language Learners by having them draw instead of writing to demonstrate the prompt that was generated by the Genie. According to the Common Core Standards, young children need opportunities to “use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.” This will help children develop these important skills while thinking creatively.
Make Your Own Fairy or Dinosaur Garden - Suggested age level 4 to 8 CCSS: ELA-Literacy.SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. When children participate in creating their own fairy or dinosaur garden, they will also demonstrate speaking and listening and being able to present their knowledge and ideas on the people, places and events in their garden.
This activity can be done in school or also extended and completed at home. One way to involve the family would be to have each child create their own home for their dinosaur or fairy at home and bring into the class garden.
Suggested materials: children can go on a scavenger hunt to find materials outside for their garden, flower pots, popsicle sticks, buttons, glue, feathers, plastic dinosaurs, plastic fairies, plants (ideas are endless, but the more creative the better).
Integrating technology - the children can videotape their fairy or dinosaur garden and describe in the video the people, places and things within their garden.
Suggested Sample Activity/Projects to Nurture Young Innovators
What if? Genie - Creative Writing - Suggested age level 5 to 8
CCSS: ELA-Literacy.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
Children are provided with a prompt and then begin to write creatively. Bruce Van Patter created the What if? Genie. If you want to encourage creative writing, students can click on the What if? Genie and a question will be generated. The students can then begin their creative writing from the prompt they receive. Give it a try here: __http://www.brucevanpatter.com/what_if_questions.php__
This activity can be modified for younger children or English Language Learners by having them draw instead of writing to demonstrate the prompt that was generated by the Genie. According to the Common Core Standards, young children need opportunities to “use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.” This will help children develop these important skills while thinking creatively.
Make Your Own Fairy or Dinosaur Garden - Suggested age level 4 to 8
CCSS: ELA-Literacy.SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
When children participate in creating their own fairy or dinosaur garden, they will also demonstrate speaking and listening and being able to present their knowledge and ideas on the people, places and events in their garden.
This activity can be done in school or also extended and completed at home. One way to involve the family would be to have each child create their own home for their dinosaur or fairy at home and bring into the class garden.
Suggested materials: children can go on a scavenger hunt to find materials outside for their garden, flower pots, popsicle sticks, buttons, glue, feathers, plastic dinosaurs, plastic fairies, plants (ideas are endless, but the more creative the better).
Integrating technology - the children can videotape their fairy or dinosaur garden and describe in the video the people, places and things within their garden.
Pinterest Board with many ideas on how to create fairy gardens: __https://www.pinterest.com/ltaddei2/fairy-gardens/__
Watch the Documentary by Sharon Liese (2014) about a real life fairy garden in Overland Park, Kansas http://www.thegnomistfilm.com/